Portable electronics devices, such as personal media players, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, portable radios, and combinations thereof, are pervasive among technology-educated users. For example, teenagers, young adults, and business people who were introduced to the Internet and portable electronics devices at a young age are capable of operating portable electronics devices with complex user interfaces and thus are likely to purchase and use portable electronics devices, even those with complex user interfaces. However, potential new users of such devices may be intimidated by the complexity of the user interfaces associated with portable electronics devices, and, for this reason, may forgo purchasing or using a portable electronics device.
In order to make portable electronics devices appealing to a wider range of users, it is desirable design such devices such that they are easy to use and to carry or wear. In addition, it is desirable to design portable electronics devices to be easy to manufacture, as ease of manufacture can reduce the cost of a portable electronics device and thereby increase its appeal to a wider range of users.
One feature of a portable electronics device that is important to both the goals of user interface simplification and ease of manufacturing is the housing. A housing holds the components of a portable electronics device and provides at least a portion of the user interface. For example, a housing for a portable electronics device may enclose a display and processing circuitry for a portable electronics device and may include one or more actuators to activate the functions of the portable electronics device. The housing may also include a clip assembly to allow the device to be displayed in a retail sales establishment and worn by a user during use.
One type of housing for portable electronics devices includes a sensor pad for activating device functions. For example, some commercially available MP3 players include sensor pads that are activated through capacitive coupling when a user's finger contacts the sensor pad. The sensor pad is used in combination with a display that displays a series of menus that are navigable using the sensor pad to activate device functions. One problem with portable electronics devices that include sensor pads is that the combination of the sensor pad and display menus to control device functions is unnecessarily complex for some users. Navigating through a hierarchy of menus to perform a simple action, such as playing a song, is not an intuitive operation for most users. As a result, such devices may not be adopted by users who desire a simpler interface.
A clip assembly for a portable electronics device may include a clip located on the back side of the device where the clip is biased by a spring assembly to maintain a closed position. In one existing portable electronics device design, the device housing includes a protrusion, and the spring assembly is located entirely in the protrusion. The result of locating the spring assembly entirely in the protrusion is that the protrusion is substantially equal in thickness to the main body of the housing. Such protrusions make the devices less aesthetically pleasing to the user and prevent the devices from being worn flat against a user's clothing. Because of the relatively large protrusions, the devices have an increased likelihood of being pulled away from the user's clothing through contact with stationary objects during use. In addition, a user is less likely to want to wear a portable electronics device that protrudes substantially from the user's clothing.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties associated with housings and clip assemblies for portable electronics devices, there exists a need for an improved housing and clip assembly for a portable electronics device.